30/09/2015 08:02 AST
Major rail contractors from Spain, Italy, China, Turkey, South Korea, Germany and France are among a dozen groups that are understood to have been prequalified by Oman Rail to compete for construction contracts linked to the implementation of the next three segments of the Sultanate’s ambitious National Railway Project.
A number of prominent Omani construction firms are also vying for the Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) contracts as members of consortiums bidding for the lucrative packages, it is learnt.
The segments in question — 2, 3 and 4 — cover a distance of over 1,200 kilometres stretching from Hafeet on the Sultanate’s border with the United Arab Emirates in the north, all the way down to Salalah in the far south of the country.
Together with Segment 1, which extends from Sohar Port to Buraimi on the Sultanate’s border with the UAE, they represent the strategic backbone of the country’s rail network linking the country’s three maritime gateways at Sohar, Duqm and Salalah with the GCC rail system.
Prequalification offers for the three segments closed in July. Although the Request for Qualifications sought submissions primarily in relation to Segment 2 (covering the 240 km stretch from Hafeet to the proposed Al Dhahirah Special Economic Zone), it also held open the possibility of its scope being expanded to include the whole of Segment 3, as well as a substantial chunk of Segment 4.
While Segment 3 runs 488 kilometres from Al Dhahirah Special Economic Zone to Duqm Special Economic Zone via Haima, Sections 4a and 4b take the national railway line south from Haima all the way to Thamrait in Dhofar Governorate.
Under a separate prequalification tender, Oman Rail had invited railroad contractors with experience in undertaking complex civil infrastructures, to prequalify for the 93 km Thamrait-Salalah stretch, representing Section 4c of the national rail network. This section traverses mountainous terrain, thus necessitating the construction of a large number of major bridges, tunnels and viaducts along this stretch.
The list of prequalified groups is understood to comprise the following:
(1) Salini Impregilo (Italy) (2) Joint Venture (JV) of Saipem (Italy), Rizzani de Eccher (Italy) and Dogus (Turkey) (3) JV of Porr Bau (Austria), Yuksel (Turkey), Daewoo Engineering and Construction (South Korea), and Sarooj Construction (Oman) (4) JV of Acciona Infrastructuras (Spain), STFA (Turkey) and Tecnimont Civil Construction (Italy) (5) JV of Astaldi (Italy) and Samsung Construction &Trading (Korea) (6) JV of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (China), Larsen & Toubro (India) and SK Engineering & Construction (Korea) (7) JV of China Railway Construction Corporation (China) and Oman National Engineering & Investment Company (Oman) (8) JV of Corsan-Corviam Construccion (Spain), Cooperative Muratori & Cementesti (Italy), Orascom Construction (Egypt) and Zubair Construction (Oman). (9) JV of Eiffage Travaux Public (France), Yapi Merkazi (Turkey), and GS Engineering & Construction (Korea) (10) JV of Condote d’Acqua (Italy), Itinera (Italy) and SWS Engineering (Italy); (11) JV of Strabag (Germany)/ and Consolidated Contractor Group (Greece), (12) and JV of Vinci Constrution (France), Aktoor (Greece) and Vinci Contruction Terrassement (France).
Meanwhile, all eyes are on the 207km Sohar Port — Buraimi stretch, representing the maiden segment of Oman’s 2,135 km National Railway Network. Three groups are in the shortlist for this prestigious segment, a contract award for which is expected shortly, it is learnt.
Oman Daily Observer
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